Honduras COE 2010 Day 4

Honduras COE 2010, Day 4

9:00 AM

Just about to start cupping the first session of 31 coffees today. Susie reminded us before we began the day that every coffee we passed through today was going to be an ambassador coffee for Honduras, so to not pass through coffees that didn’t fit that profile. She also reminded us that every cup had a farmers face in it, and that COE winners lives are changed by the event. Serious stuff.

9:33 AM

Just finished the first session. Only four coffees on this table that I would buy. We will see what the jury has to say. This is the beauty of a large international jury, in that different perspectives and different market demands prevent my personal opinion from ruling the day. While I know what I like, and the fundamentals of what makes a great cup of coffee - sweetness, acidity, balance, and flavour - my evaluation can’t dictate anything more than what I would buy for Transcend.

9:52

The jury has decided to push at least 5 coffees out of session one. This is one more than I would have personally, so that is where the jury system works to negate my own personal opinions. For this round the jury is tasked with not only scoring the coffees but also providing descriptors for each coffee. This exercise has been refined over the years where we are now trying to distill our descriptions so that there isn’t an overwhelming and confusing list of words attached to each coffee. Having said that, it still tends to be a bit of a gong show, as every judge has their own frame of reference for describing flavour and aroma. It is always interesting to hear a coffee described as both bright and soft at the same time. It simply demonstrates how we describe things based on our own personal experience.

11:25 AM

Just finishing up the discussion for the second session. I think that five of the coffees in this session will make it through. Not sure though. The one thing I really enjoy about these events is the collegiality of the folk who attend. It is so amazing to be able to travel to a foreign country and meet and hang with friends. Last night for example a bunch of us just made dinner in our room, after Mike Love and I went to town to buy some fresh produce and meat. A couple of bottles of wine and some very tasty food. A great way to spend the evening.

12:46 PM

We are just wrapping up the morning session. We have worked our way through 24 coffees, and are almost ready to have a lunch break. It is a hot day here, and the first bit of the cupping table (aroma and break) is quite hot, until they turn on the air conditioning. The facility here at Finca Rosael is actually quite good for a cupping competition. The room we cup in is well lit and the simple fact that they have air conditioning is a hugh plus. We will back at the table at 2:00 PM.

2:36 PM

One table to go. We have seven coffees left to evaluate and then we will be done for the day. Tomorrow we cup the top ten coffees and have the awards ceremony. Then it will be onto visiting farms. Today has been a long day. It is hot, and I am always surprised how much energy it takes to focus and be serious about cupping this many coffees.

2:56 PM

Everyone is looking pretty haggard.

3:48 PM

A Salva Vida in hand (Honduran beer) and the day is done. My favourite table bar none, and my favourite coffee of the competition. I scored it an 89 which is one of my highest scores. It was a fun table for the most part, as there were a number of coffees I enjoyed. We were all looking forward to hitting the pool, but the rain and thunder is moving in, so that will likely not be happening. From what little I am hearing from home, the heat has been slowing the coffee consumption down. Why do people not want to drink coffee when it is hot? We do serve iced coffee and lattes too.

Check out the flickr page for more photos - http://www.flickr.com/photos/transcendcoffee/